Fire-escape.



PATBNTED MAR. '14,` 1905.

l P. A. PARKER.

' FIRE BSCA'PB. APrLI'oATIon ULEB JUN; 11`, 1904.

- Witness@ @Robust UNITED STATES Patented March 14, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

FIRE-ESCAPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 785,019, dated March14, 1905.

Application filed Tune 11, 1904. Serial No. 212,178.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK ALBERT PARKER, acitizen ofthe United States,residing at Spencer, in the county of Clay and State of Iowa, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Fire-Escapes, of which thefollowing is a speciiication.

This invention relates to fire-escapes, the object of the inventionbeing to provide a portable fire-escape embodying a 'novel constructionof a frictional rope-grip which will greatly facilitate and render safethe escape of a person from a burning building and his descent to theground, the rope-grip being of such construction that while it acts witha frictional or binding grip on the rope, such gripping action may beeasily regulated by the person descending, the construction of the gripbeing especially advantageous by reason of the fact that it may begrasped as a handhoid without danger of the rope burning or chaiingv forsupporting a sling, belt, or other bodysupporting device. Fig. 2 is anenlarged detail View of the rope-grip.

Like reference-numerals designate corresponding parts in both figures ofthe drawings.

The frictional rope is composed of a bar or stock l of'any suitable sizeand preferably round in cross-section. The stock lis provided withterminal eyes 2 and 3, which are considerablyenlarged, as shown, andadapted to receive portions of a rope which is reeved therethrough, asshown in the figure.

Intermediate its ends the stock or bar l is provided with a centralintersecting eye 5, which divides the stock into two equal straightparts. The said intermediate eye is made quite large, so as to provideoppositely-projecting semicircular offsets 6, which when the rope ispassed through the eye 5 always project considerably beyond the rope andform an eiiicient hand-grip, so that a person descending by means of theapparatus may steady himself by grasping the central portion of thestock, the said offsets 6 keeping his hands out of injurious contactwith the rope as it runs through the intermediate eye. The central eyeis arranged in reverse direction from the end eyes, so that the oifsetsthereof will extend laterally on opposite sides ofthe intersecting endsof the two parts of the stock.

The upper end of the rope 4 is secured to any suitable object in a roomor hallway and the remainder of the rope thrown out of the window, therope being long enough to reach to the ground. The frictional rope-gripis mounted on the rope so that the said rope passes downward through theupper eye 2, thence wrapping partially around the stock l, passingthrough the eye 5, thence wrapping partially around the lower portion ofthe stock and passing through the lower eye 3. In order to obtainadditional friction on the rope, it may be extended upward after passingthrough the eye 3 and carried again through the eye 2 and then downward,so that a person may grasp the grip with one hand and control therapidity of descending by grasping the lower portion of the rope in theother hand and allowing the same to slip through the hand as hedescends.

7 designates a snap-hook, which is attached by means of a suitableconnection 8 to the lower eye 3 of the grip, said snap-hook beingadapted to be engaged quickly with the sling or belt or analogous devicesecured about-the body of the person using the apparatus.

The frictional rope-grip hereinabove described may be used in connectionwith any rope or flexible cable and enables a person to safely descendto the ground from any height and control the rapidity of descent. Bymaking the intermediate eye large, and thereby providing thesemicircular offsets, and placing said eye 'at right angles to theterminal eyes the rope is guided through the several eyes in such manneras to car-ry the same clear of the Verse direction from the end eyes sothat the offsets thereof will' extend laterally 'on opposite sides ofthe intersecting ends of the two parts of the stock, substantially asspecified.

In testimony whereof I aix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK ALBERT PARKER.

Witnesses:

A. F. LAMAR, y K. V. MITCHELL.

